Recent Media Coverage

Fall bird migration is on, so enjoy the show

Toronto Star,
Paul Hunter,
September 6 2015

It was breathtaking. From a small knoll known as Hawk Hill, just north of the Grenadier Restaurant in High Park, experienced bird watchers counted more than 7,000 broad-winged hawks passing overhead on a mid-September day in 2011.

That number stands as an impressive reminder that birders and others who simply have a desire to observe the annual fall migration don’t have to venture out of the city to see the winged exodus.

There are about 200 bird species that become temporary Torontonians during the autumn trek from the north toward warmer climes. And we are just hitting the peak period for our feathered friends to be passing through.

“Toronto is actually an excellent birding spot,” says Emily Rondel, who admits to a bias since she is Toronto projects coordinator for Bird Studies Canada.

“We don’t think of big cities as being places where you can see birds, but there are so many different kinds of habitat within the GTA itself, and the river valleys and ravine systems provide very natural routes for birds to travel, so, yes, it’s a great birding area.”

Toronto has several other attributes that make it an urban birders’ paradise during migration. It is at the confluence of two flyways that birds use to make their way south. Also, since birds prefer to take the shortest distance over water, there is a tendency for them to flow towards the Toronto Islands and the Leslie Spit before heading out over the lake.

In the case of hawks and other raptors such as falcons, eagles and turkey vultures that don’t like to cross large bodies of water at all, they fly south until they reach Lake Ontario and then funnel west, following the lakeshores, towards Windsor.

If conditions are right and there is a northwest wind, the hawks are pushed towards the water they are trying to shun, concentrating their numbers in a smaller area.

“That’s how you get to see something like 7,000 in one day,” says Anne Bell, director of conservation and education at Ontario Nature. “But we only see big numbers a few days every fall, because the winds are just right to make them hug the lake. To think you could actually see 7,000 hawks in one day flying over one spot is pretty cool.”

This is a peak period for migrating birds that catch their insect meals in the air, such as swallows, swifts and nighthawks, notes Lynne Freeman, president of Ontario Field Ornithologists. A Nighthawk Watch continues in High Park during the evenings this week.

Shorebirds are also migrating, but they’re tougher to find because our lakefronts are so heavily populated. Some sandpipers, though, can be found on the Leslie Spit.

Freeman also noted that songbirds such as warblers, grackles and other small birds are also passing through now and can be spotted fattening up for the long trip in places such as Tommy Thompson Park on the spit, High Park and the Toronto Islands.

The website www.ebird.ca is an aid to learning which birds are being spotted where, while the Toronto Ornithological Club has information at www.torontobirding.ca about its weekend walks to observe migrating birds.

“It’s just gearing up,” Bell says of the fall migration. “Some of the birds start to move in July. Then it picks up in August, and September is the peak. So we’re just about to head right into the peak.”

Bell selected five species that we can we see fleetingly in Toronto before it’s bye-bye birdie as they fly south.

Broad-winged hawk
: Spends summers in the forests of central Ontario and migrates to the northern half of South America, passing over Toronto in huge numbers. Bell says they travel in flocks that can number into the thousands. They can be seen passing over High Park. Another good observation point is Scarborough’s Rosetta McClain Gardens.

Ruby-throated hummingbird
: Migrates from the southern boreal forest to as far as Mexico and Central America. Crossing the Gulf of Mexico can take up to 20 hours. That’s a huge feat, says Bell, for a bird that weighs only 2.5 to 3.5 grams. It’s the only hummingbird in Eastern North America and the only one that makes a major crossing over open water. Can be seen in gardens and parks.

Blackpoll warbler
: Migrates from as far north as the treeline in the subarctic to the Caribbean or South America. Bell says they head toward the eastern seaboard before travelling up to 3,000 kilometres over open ocean, which could mean a trip of longer than 72 hours without stopping. Can be seen stocking up for the journey in wooded areas such as Lampton Woods along the Humber River.

Common loon
: Its call synonymous with our north country, the loon migrates just prior to the lakes freezing up, travelling to the coastal ocean waters of the eastern seaboard in the U.S. Able to live on saltwater, they typically stay close to shore, passing the winter in bays and inlets. Migrates during the day and can be seen overhead.

Golden eagle
: The most widely distributed species of eagle, those that summer in northern Ontario migrate to part of the U.S. north of West Virginia, usually soaring over Toronto in mid-October to early November. It’s a hardy bird that can withstand the cold, but it moves south in search of food supply.